


Falling Against Your Will

by MyveusRokko



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, basically a romcom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:53:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22912795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyveusRokko/pseuds/MyveusRokko
Summary: Keith might just find new friends at college. He isn't looking for anything else. But what if he falls in love? And what if he falls for the wrong person?
Relationships: Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Kudos: 8





	Falling Against Your Will

Keith’s life wasn’t perfect. But when he finished high school he almost felt like it’s a good life. Or a good part of it. He supposed there were no stupid bullies in college. And he could finally fully focus on art. He was excited to see how it is in college and finally do something meaningful to him.

He’s been dreaming about this new start for a while now. How he would find a friend or even better – friends. How he wouldn’t be so alone like he was used to be. Because even though the loneliness was comforting in some odd way to him, he wanted more. He was used to being alone but he became jealous of others sometimes.

Sure his family (or the rest of it) wasn’t mean or bad to him but it was so… quiet. His uncle was a good guy but an awful parent. He loved his nephew but it was rather a burden than a joy to take care of him most of the time because Keith was a trouble kid and he came to his uncle as a seven years old kid so he wasn’t exactly independent at the beginning. Plus the fact he had never had kids of his own before. But they eventually found a way to work things out and it was better than foster-parents.

Eventually, they developed a nice relationship and they complimented each other. They both liked their peace so their shared evenings involved watching silent films or quietly discussing some book or art. They both had a passion for art. In fact, Thace learned Keith a lot about it and he supported his hobby. He showed him the great big world of art. Yeah, Keith’s uncle was his favorite person in the world.

Thace wanted to see him off to the college but Keith managed to talk him out of it. He wanted to do it on his own plus he wanted to take his motorbike with him. For easier transport during the semester. His suitcase was kinda problem so Thace said he would take his car and get it.

“No, Thace… You really don’t have to. I can somehow… Attach it to it,” Keith protested.

“Keith, for the love of God, you are so stubborn sometimes. I swear I’ll just say goodbye and I’ll be off your way.”

So there he was, standing in front of the dormitories with his things packed up in one large suitcase. Or maybe not so large, as he found out later when he saw the other students. They all looked like they were moving in the dorms for forever compared to him. But Keith wasn’t super rich or super materialistic so… It was an intimidating environment for someone as closed and introverted as Keith and memories of high school came back.

He felt like an intruder when he saw the huge crowds of people who knew each other or weren’t afraid to approach someone to get to know them. And he was probably the only student without parents or friends to accompany him.

Okay, keep it cool. It’s gonna be fine. Just find your dorm and you’ll be fine.

When he finally found his building, he was exhausted from the constant jostling with other students and the noises. And then he finally came to his room. It was beautifully quiet. His roommate wasn’t here yet, which Keith didn’t know how to take – it’s good for him, because he can calmly unpack and get some time for himself. On the other hand, he’ll die wondering and worrying who’s his roommate gonna be.

He explored the apartment consisting of two smaller rooms and a hall with a bathroom. He chose a room (they were identical so it wasn’t that hard) and started to unpack his things. He put his clothes in the wardrobe carefully. Then his artistic supplies, some photos, an mp3 player, hygiene…

Where’s my toothpaste? Oh no…

He looked in his suitcase again. Nothing. He just gets on with getting the rest of his things out of his bag. When all his stuff was out, he heard the door opening again. He was thinking about the person who’s gonna share his dorm back at home a lot, but he didn’t expect a petite person with messy hair and glasses looking like a twelve years old boy.

“Um...” he started. Say something dumbass!

“Hi!” the person said, and their voice wasn’t unpleasant despite its high pitch. “I’m Pidge Holt. I suppose you’re Keith. We’re roommates,” they said casually. 

“Eh… How do you know...”

“I did my research. Anyway, nice to meet you.”

“Yeah… Same.” ‘Same?’ Next time call them bro. Or sis…? “Can I ask…?” He said hesitantly. But he finally found his words. “What are your pronouns?” Good one.

Keith has been part of lgbtq+ community for a long time, so he knew the basic manners. And his simple question made Pidge smile. Bingo.

“They/them. Thanks for asking! I’ll go to my room. I see you already chose yours. See ya!” And they were gone. Keith could breathe again. That went smoothly. He hoped the rest of the semester would be also like that. Maybe the people here were civilized and nice. And similar to him. Maybe Pidge had problems with abuse, too. Maybe they had more things in common than it seemed at the first sight.

The boy was really tired and found himself in bed right after the encountering. He simply took of his clothes and stared at the ceiling. He had these depressive sessions with ceiling often, they became good friends over the years. Keith always felt relaxed when lying on the bed. He felt like all the troubles and duties were secondary. Like they’ve never existed at all. But this was a different ceiling, the fissures were different, the lighting wasn’t the same – the familiar shadows changed places. The room felt so cold and distant, it made him almost scared. But Keith was never scared. He would get through this. This too will pass.

He then realized something. It was a perfect excuse to make more contact and to be nice. Even though it was slightly embarrassing and he hoped it wouldn’t annoy his roommate too much. But for him and his helpless social skills, it was the perfect opportunity. He was on his legs again, faster than he thought it was humanly possible. He hastily threw the clothes back on and headed to Pidge’s room. A light knock on the door was enough for Pidge to open them.

He noticed how many things Pidge had brought with themselves. Their bedroom resembled a battlefield after an explosion. There was no order whatsoever. It was a personal chaos. Maybe it helped them force away the overwhelming feeling of being lost that this new place bore within itself. Maybe it made them feel like home.

He was really pathetic to be so lost and homesick after few hours but he wasn’t used to going out or sleeping somewhere else. And when he did get out, Thace was always with him.

He banished the thoughts of his old life and tried to focus on the present.

“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you but I lost my toothpaste and I wanted to ask if I could use yours for today until I buy a new one...” He sounded awkward and tentatively touched the back of his neck.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll leave it in the bathroom then? I suppose we have just one bathroom.”

“Yes, we do. Anyway... thank you. You saved me from having a bad breath on the first day at school,” he smiled and Pidge did too. A very small one but still a smile. He guessed they had this shyness and introverted personality in common. When he was in his room he finally had the time to think about his new roommate.

He allowed himself to relax a little bit. He hasn’t done anything exhausting that day but the heaviness of new things and new life fell on him nonetheless. He’s been stressing all summer and he needed to chill out. He found it hard to do though.

But he was quite content with the person he ended up in a dorm with. Pidge seemed really cool and they would probably get along pretty easily especially since they were both queer. He wasn’t sure but he had a feeling that maybe Pidge experienced bullying too. 

After a few minutes he could hear Pidge through the wall separating their room talking to someone – to their parents, he figured. They sounded happy and enthusiastic. He couldn’t relate.

“Yeah, the roommate I already told you about. He’s super cool! He was really polite to me. Hunk and Lance are here too. They share their dorm together. Yeah, like 5 minutes away from ours.”

Hunk and Lance? Probably some friends. He didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, because he fell asleep. It was a long day and his first lesson was in afternoon the next day, so he had time. Unfortunately he was a light sleeper, and he woke up to unknown, loud voices. He checked the clock. It was evening so he decided to get up, and see who came.

He didn’t know how he managed to leave the comfortable bed with such ease. His sleeping schedule was never very steady, so he cherished every minute in the sweet bliss of sleep. But he felt he should get up and go after the noise. Even if it made him slightly angry at himself.

When he opened the door and peeked to kitchen he firstly noticed Pidge’s and some stranger’s back. He noticed that the man had an orange bandana and nice dark skin. His broad shoulders hid the third person, but the guy said something which made them all laugh – Keith didn’t wake up enough to understand. But it made them all laugh and the guy bent down. And he had a perfect view of the third one’s face. And he immediately analyzed it because damn it, he was an artist – drawing faces was his hobby. And this was a really pretty face if he got to say something about it.

The boy had tanned skin as his other friend and brown hair. He laughed wholeheartedly and his smile beamed like the sun. He was very noticeable due to his big gestures and expressive features in his face. He had long jaw and prominent cheekbones. His eyes were blue and it contrasted beautifully with the dark of his skin. His mouth was wide and created small wrinkles when he smiled. Oh, and he had a dimple on the right cheek. Keith thought he saw a description of an ideal man. Artist’s dream.

He was probably a surfer. He looked like he spent most of his life outdoors. Keith decided to hate his pretty face for reminding him of the popular people in high school but he mentally slapped himself for it. He can’t judge a person by their looks. He can’t be that bad if he’s friends with Pidge. Right?

“Hey Pidge! What kind of vampire do you hide in here?” No. Oh, hell no.

“Uh, sorry, this is my roommate, Keith.” And he felt like an intruder once again. “This is Hunk,” the other guy already turned around. He had a nice face and a warm smile. He instantly appealed to Keith because he looked like someone with a heart of gold. He greeted him with simple ‘hey’. He became nervous with all eyes now glued on him, peering and wondering, “and this asshole is Lance-”

“Hey! I’m not an asshole!”

“Yes you are. Anyway feel free to join us, Keith,” they smiled and gestured to an empty chair. He mulled it over for a few seconds. He wanted to go for a quick chat but he was still exhausted. He was regarding the motley group for too long and they gave him strange, amused looks. The asshole – Lance – wore a smug smile which exasperated him even more than 

“I just wanted to see what’s going on. I’ll go to bed, I’m tired. But enjoy yourselves. Night,” he mumbled awkwardly, faked a smile and waved before they could say anything else. They remained quiet until he closed the door and he heard the whisperers.

“Well that was quick. And it wasn’t probably the best start. We should introduce later when we have time to do it properly,” Pidge noted.

“He’s kinda hot I would bang him if he wasn’t such a cold fish. And he has a stupid mullet. Did you see his face? He looked like a kicked puppy.” That was Lance.

“I don’t know, he seemed okay to me,” replied Hunk.

“Guys, I swear he’s super cool. I don’t want to mess things up with him and I want him in our group so no more vampires and cold fish and like, Lance and especially no shagging.”

“But-”

“You won’t share bed with him, McClain,” Keith swore they could kill someone with that tone of a voice.

“Okay, Pidgeon… Whatever.”

Keith felt weird being talked about like this. He was used to being mocked not discussed as a potential friend. And even though Lance seemed like an asshole he hadn’t done anything worse than Keith was already familiar with so he wasn’t offended and he still hoped they would get along after some time.

It was silly of him to suddenly forget his harsh past only to give a chance to a stupid guy who was the perfect prototype of a bully. He reminded him so much of all the annoying popular kids – the ones he wanted to get away from.

They were a strange group of friends. They seemed fine… In general. He had his doubts, but he really wanted this school year to be different so he didn’t let one bad introduction ruin his opinion of them. Plus he shared queerness with at least two of them so that was that.

So the summary of the day. Pidge was a bit scary but a good person and Hunk seemed like a cinnamon bun and Keith was more or less happy that he ended up with them. Their third musketeer was a total dickhead. Because there always has to be some flaws. He thought that Lance might have problems with opening to people, too and instead of being timid he uses cockiness as a self defense.

Or maybe he was thinking about it too much. Yeah, that would be it. Go to sleep and prepare yourself for the new beginning, Keith.

The room seemed suddenly smaller with the thought of sharing the dorm with not one, not two, but three people and the stars stared at him forlornly from the window. Maybe he should stay and talk with them, but his bashfulness didn’t let him. And without the comfort of familiar things, familiar people… He’s never felt so alone.


End file.
